\u27Death is difficult in any language\u27: A qualitative study of palliative care professionals\u27 experiences when providing end-of-life care to patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

Background: Ethnic minority patients have unique challenges in accessing health services. These include language difficulties, unfamiliarity with the health system, lower rates of cancer screening and survival, higher rates of reported side effects from cancer treatment and poorer quality of life. Little is known about this patient group when transitioning to palliative care. Aim: To elicit the experiences of palliative care health professionals when providing care for patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds which differ from mainstream Australian language and culture. Design: An emergent qualitative design, informed by theoretical and procedural direction from grounded theory research. Setting/participants: Four focus groups held with palliative care staff (n=28) in a single specialist palliative care service in Australia. Results: The following themes emerged: 1) determining the rules of engagement around discussion of diagnosis and prognosis; 2) navigating the challenge of language to patient understanding; 3) understanding migration experiences to establish trust; 4) maintaining the balance between patient safety and comfort care; 5) providing a good death experience through accommodation of beliefs; and 6) navigating the important role of family members while privileging patient preferences. Conclusion: Underlying provider perceptions of caring for patients was that death is difficult in any language. Care was conceptualised as considering cultural and linguistic backgrounds within individualistic care. Understanding the migration experience and building trust were key elements of this individualised approach. Acknowledgement of the key role played by families in patient care and safety are strategies to minimise barriers and understand the concerns of this patient group

Isolation mediates persistent founder effects on zooplankton colonisation in new temporary ponds

Understanding the colonisation process in zooplankton is crucial for successful restoration of aquatic ecosystems. Here, we analyzed the clonal and genetic structure of the cyclical parthenogenetic rotifer Brachionus plicatilis by following populations established in new temporary ponds during the first three hydroperiods. Rotifer populations established rapidly after first flooding, although colonisation was ongoing throughout the study. Multilocus genotypes from 7 microsatellite loci suggested that most populations (10 of 14) were founded by few clones. The exception was one of the four populations that persisted throughout the studied hydroperiods, where high genetic diversity in the first hydroperiod suggested colonisation from a historical egg bank and, no increase in allelic diversity was detected with time. In contrast, in another of these four populations, we observed a progressive increase of allelic diversity. This population became less differentiated from the other populations suggesting effective gene flow soon after its foundation. Allelic diversity and richness remained low in the remaining two, more isolated, populations, suggesting little gene flow. Our results highlight the complexity of colonisation dynamics, with evidence for persistent founder effects in some ponds, but not in others, and with early immigration both from external source populations, and from residual, historical diapausing egg banks

'Community and Exclusion: The Torrey Canyon Disaster of 1967'

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Social History following peer review. The version of record in Vol. 48 (4) pp. 892-909 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jsh/shv004Oral historians have only recently begun to record the memories of communities affected by major oil spills. In this article we investigate how the first supertanker oil spill in 1967, the Torrey Canyon, is remembered in the coastal communities of Cornwall. Environmental disasters cause more than just environmental damage. They also challenge communities, bringing to the forefront social tensions and conflicts. This study reveals the widespread sense of exclusion within the community as the national political, military and scientific elites took control over the clean-up operation. While aspects of the disaster have been successfully integrated into existing Cornish shipwreck narratives, the displacement of local hierarchies of knowledge by national elites challenged both personal and community identities revealing a subaltern community, often economically vulnerable, whose indigenous knowledge was ignored or devalued. Connecting these dimensions of community memory is the fundamentally moral question of intent, and the resistance to imposed peripheral status enacted through processes of remembering, telling of trickster tales and black humor.British Academy/Leverhulm

An empirical method for deriving grade equivalence for university entrance qualifications: An application to A levels and the International Baccalaureate

We present a method to compare different qualifications for entry to higher education by studying students' subsequent performance. Using this method for students holding either the International Baccalaureate (IB) or A-levels gaining their degrees in 2010, we estimate an 'empirical' equivalence scale between IB grade points and UCAS points whereby, for similar students in the same universities and subjects, final degree performance is independent of the type of entry qualification. The empirical equivalence scale suggests that the official UCAS tariff is too generous to IB students in the allocation of UCAS points. We also compare the points of IB students with the UCAS scores of A level students in the same university. We find that the amount that the official tariff is adjusted by universities is approximately correct in the low-to-middle part of the range (IB points in the low 30s). At the top end of the scale, however, universities have adjusted too far away from the official mapping. Oxford and Cambridge are exceptions, owing to their intensive recruitment methods; yet their tendency to ask for very high IB points, but not very high A level UCAS points, remains a puzzle

Entitlement to concessionary public transport and wellbeing : a qualitative study of young people and older citizens in London, UK

Public transport in all countries, rich and poor, facilitates access to some of the determinants of health including employment, and health and educational services. Some cities (largely in higher income countries) now provide incentives to use public transport. Drawing on qualitative data from two groups typically at risk of transport exclusion, this paper focuses on young (12-18 years of age) and older (60+ years of age) bus users’ accounts of bus travel and of the travel concessions they receive. Both groups perceived that their entitlement to free bus travel reflected their social worth, but that entitlement to particular spaces on the bus reflected less valued social attributes such as need or vulnerability. Their free bus journeys were related to social inclusion through enhancing a sense of belonging: to the city, and to a collective ‘public’. We focus on the ways in which entitlement to public transport can mediate the relationships between mobility and wellbeing. These findings are important because while much research has focussed on ‘active travel’ modes and health, fewer studies look at the relationship between public transport use and wider health and social benefits.Peer reviewe

The Role of Interagency Collaboration for Substance- Abusing Families Involved with Child Welfare

Meeting the needs of families involved with the child welfare system because of a substance abuse issue remains a challenge for child welfare practitioners. In order to improve services to these families, there has been an increasing focus on improving collaboration between child welfare, treatment providers, and the court systems. This paper presents the results from qualitative interviews with 104 representatives of these three systems that explore how the collaborative process works to benefit families, as well as the barriers and supports for building successful collaborations. Results indicate that collaboration has at least three major functions: building shared value systems, improving communication, and providing a team of support. Each of these leads to different kinds of benefits for families as well as providers and has different implications for building successful collaborative interventions. Despite these putative benefits, providers within each system, however, continue to struggle to build effective collaborations, and they face such issues as deeply ingrained mistrust and continued lack of understanding of other systems\u27 values, goals, and perspectives. Challenges that remain for successful collaborations are discussed

Tentative Evidence for Relativistic Electrons Generated by the Jet of the Young Sun-like Star DG Tau

Synchrotron emission has recently been detected in the jet of a massive protostar, providing further evidence that certain jet formation characteristics for young stars are similar to those found for highly relativistic jets from AGN. We present data at 325 and 610 MHz taken with the GMRT of the young, low-mass star DG Tau, an analog of the Sun soon after its birth. This is the first investigation of a low-mass YSO at at such low frequencies. We detect emission with a synchrotron spectral index in the proximity of the DG Tau jet and interpret this emission as a prominent bow shock associated with this outflow. This result provides tentative evidence for the acceleration of particles to relativistic energies due to the shock impact of this otherwise very low-power jet against the ambient medium. We calculate the equipartition magnetic field strength (0.11 mG) and particle energy (4x10^40 erg), which are the minimum requirements to account for the synchrotron emission of the DG Tau bow shock. These results suggest the possibility of low energy cosmic rays being generated by young Sun-like stars.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

"It's nothing you could ever prepare anyone for": the experiences of young people and their families following parental stroke

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Brain Injury on 21 March 2018, available online at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02699052.2018.1426879. The accepted manuscript is under embargo until 18 January 2019.Aims: This study sought to explore the experiences of young people (aged 8–16) and their families following parental acquired brain injury (ABI), with the aim of developing an understanding of the ways in which members of a family make sense of events post-injury, and to consider the implications of different perspectives on adjustment and coping. Design: The study applied a qualitative approach using a thematic analysis methodology. Procedure: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 individuals from three families affected by parental stroke. Results: Findings suggested that post-injury, families experienced a period of uncertainty in which they were required to renegotiate their roles and adjust to the loss associated with parental stroke. Additionally, the psychosocial wellbeing of young people was negatively affected, whilst protective and coping strategies were recognised. Conclusions: The research offers an insight into the processes that may contribute to patterns of interpersonal relating that could negatively impact on adjustment. Provision of adequate information, psychological and practical support during recovery may therefore be crucial elements of supporting young people and their families in adjusting to the challenges posed by stroke.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio